CHERRY HILL – Danzeisen & Quigley, a sporting-goods retailer founded almost 60 years ago with an emphasis on skiing and biking, is nearing the end of its run.

The Cherry Hill firm has announced plans to close in an email “to all our friends and colleagues.”

“Now it is time to close this chapter in our lives,” the message says.

“We do not have an exact closing date at this time and expect to provide more details as wework through the remainder of our season,” adds the email, which expresses gratitude to multiple generations of customers.

The firm's three owners — Bob Danzeisen, Bill Quigley and Joe Vitale — "have decided it's time to retire," according to a statement from the business Thursday.

"I'm about to turn 86," noted Danzeisen, who launched the business in 1961 in Haddon Heights.

Quigley retired from active participation in the store about five years ago, the company's statement said. It said Vitale, who could not be reached, was "also ready to 'unplug' from the seven-day-a-week schedule."

"Industries change, the retail landscape has changed and so have we," the statement said. "It's always good to go out on top."

The firm began as Danzeisen Ski and Sport with an initial emphasis on the skiing and cycling markets, then broadened its inventory in the early 1970s to include competitive swimwear, according to an online history.

The company operated four locations across South Jersey before consolidating at its current home on Route 70 near the New Jersey Turnpike.

The 31,000-square-foot building allowed the store to expand its product lines, including the introduction of merchandise for snowboarders, the firm's website says.

"They helped him with his disability paperwork and kept in constant touch by text and phone, always asking what could be done, and fussed over him when he went to the shop to visit," the commentary said.

It noted the store's owners, managers and workers made multiple improvements to Cameron's home, changes their co-worker saw when he returned from a long hospital stay just hours before his death.

"They hung his wedding portrait, curtains and a "Welcome Home Ian" sign," the commentary recounted.

"They worked tirelessly for a day and a half and got the job done 10 minutes before the ambulance that brought him home arrived at the door," it said.